NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, July 27, 2018

ODX Pte. Ltd. today announced that it has more than $60 million in commitments for its private token sale. Early backers include a global list of very prominent names in the technology and blockchain space such as Pantera Capital, BlockTower Capital, DNA Fund, Kenetic Capital out of Hong Kong, Andromeda out of Switzerland, Hexa Labs out of Israel, Wavemaker Genesis, Strong Ventures in Korea, Jonathan Finch (advisor to Liquid Telecom out of Africa), Randy Kaplan (serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Akamai), Alexander Shulgin (Russian Blockchain Godfather), Christian de Faria (VP Special Advisor Orange for Middle East and Africa) and Brock Pierce (early global blockchain thought leader and venture capitalist).

Through its decentralized data marketplace, Open Data Exchange (ODX), ODX Pte. Ltd. is setting out to solve what is perhaps the most basic problem of all for consumers in emerging economies: internet access.

“Free and fair access to the web is a fundamental human right,” said Scott Walker, co-founder of DNA Fund. “The dynamic nature of emerging markets creates unique challenges that have never confronted the developed world but also opens up opportunities for innovation and growth. We are proud to be part of the elite group of early supporters of the ODX platform, which will leverage blockchain technology to enable the delivery of free mobile internet access to underserved populations across the world.”

In many emerging markets such as Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, the average user is online only through paid internet access less than ten days every month. Why? Because mobile data is expensive, free public Wi-Fi is scarce and DSL/cable options are limited.

This is an especially significant problem when you consider the fact that over 80 percent of the world’s internet population lives in emerging markets.

“Blockchain is a revolutionary technology, with extensive benefits to enterprises, government entities and private citizens alike,” said Nix Nolledo, founder and chairman of ODX Pte. Ltd. “It provides the perfect framework for our platform, which brings together internet service providers and publishers from around the globe in ways that have never previously been possible.”

ODX Pte. Ltd. is uniquely positioned to execute on this lofty endeavor. Its parent company is Xurpas Inc., the largest consumer tech company in the Philippines. With more than 900 employees across offices in Southeast Asia, Xurpas has already built a vast network of business relationships, which will be leveraged to fuel the growth and expansion of ODX.

For more information about ODX, please visit https://odx.network/ and join the conversation on Facebook, Reddit, Telegram and Twitter.

Photo courtesy of Remko van Dokkum.